Deadly Identities by Amin Maalouf

According to Maalouf, a person shouldn't have to define himself or his identity to people if he were exposed or raised according to different cultures. It is unfair to him- as it is to other people- to have to choose between certain aspects of his identity, or even hide those facets and "save" them for a different gathering or group of people who can cope with those different sides "The identity cannot be compartmentalized" .

As a matter of fact, Maalouf has been asked several times if he felt " more French or more Lebanese" and when he answered "both"1, people actually took him aside and tried to make sure if that was what he really thought to himself, not just what he told people. Most people expect us to have a "Fundamental Belonging" where your utmost loyalty lays. This loyalty must be to a religious belief, colt, tribe or political cause. Anything more complicated than that, and you're either a liar or too much to handle. Maalouf, a native Lebanese and a French citizen for 22 years, believes that a man should "embrace his different identities though he may be viewed as a traitor like Rhine -Turk born but German in upbringing- who cannot assume both identities freely" . This predicament "manufactures slaughterers" according to Maalouf because it emphasizes fractioning instead of unity in a community, and thus induces murder in the name of a "cause". In other words, this kind of thinking -forcing the society to fixate all its passion on a certain dogma- encourages fanaticism and allows people to impose their parochial concepts on people of different circumstances and lifestyles. I believe that his allegation on "Manufacturing Slaughterers" is true, because making people confine certain aspects of their character could drive any sane man crazy. I being half Philippino half Lebanese grew up in Lebanon with people pushing me to be more "Lebanese". I honestly don't think I'm dangerous, but the stress is unbearable. In fact, I...

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... Dana Waheeb Muwafi
Deadlyidentities by (AminMaalouf)
Analyze:
1- What is Maalouf's tone in the beginning of the essay? How does this change at the end?
His tone was honest, calm and reasonable. He started by belonging himself to both identities (Lebanese and French) by explaining with patience. But at the end he had a trouble to identify his identity and he tried to have only one.
2- Identify who you think is the author's intended audience.
His audiences are those who have multiple identities and become marginalized. Also who deal with them (fanatics and xenophobes).
3- Search through the article and highlight all the passages that seem to you to be contributing to the thesis of the essay. Then write thesis in your own words.
The thesis of the essay is that the person shouldn't have to define himself or his identity to people if he were raised according to different cultures. It's unfair to him – as it is to other people – to have to choose between certain aspects of his identity or even hide those facts and save them for a different group of people that can cope with those different sides. "The identity can't be compartmentalized ".
4- Define the word "xenophobe "using either a dictionary or context clues? How does using the word "xenophobe" develop Maalouf's overall thesis?
It means people that fear or...

...﻿DeadlyIdentities
By AminMaalouf
Since I left Lebanon in 1976 to establish myself in France, I have been asked many times, with the best intentions in the world, if I felt more French or more Lebanese. I always give the same answer: "Both." Not in an attempt to be fair or balanced but because if I gave another answer I would be lying. This is why I am myself and not another, at the edge of two countries, two or three languages and several cultural traditions. This is precisely what determines my identity. Would I be more authentic if I cut off a part of myself?
To those who ask, I explain with patience that I was born in Lebanon, lived there until the age of 27, that Arabic is my first language and I discovered Dickens, Dumas and "Gulliver's Travels" in the Arabic translation, and I felt happy for the first time as a child in my village in the mountains, the village of my ancestors where I heard some of the stories that would help me later write my novels. How could I forget all of this? How could I untie myself from it? But on another side, I have lived on the French soil for 22 years, I drink its water and wine, my hands caress its old stones everyday, I write my books in French and France could never again be a foreign country.
Half French and half Lebanese, then? Not at all! The identity cannot be compartmentalized; it cannot be split in halves or thirds, nor have any clearly...

...In the text, DeadlyIdentities, by Lebanese writer, AminMaalouf, the writer explains his way of defining one’s identity and writes to all people having deadlyidentities, not to force others to label their identities, if they have been raised by two violently opposed cultures. Maalouf rejects the fact that a man’s identity is prioritized basically on religion and nationality. He also comments that people with dual-identities are not obliged to choose or separate between their two origins. The author’s premise in the text is that one’s identity does not have any certain limits or borders, but insists that an individual’s identity consists of all the components that have influenced his or her life.
In his text, Maalouf acknowledges the dangers of asking someone to explicitly define his or her identity along religious, ethnic or national terms. What was dangerous to the writer was the common attitude that the majority of the world has when distinguishing their real character. Most people feel like there is a belonging deep inside of each and every one of us, that “so-called belonging” has been passed on to us and will never change, it has been nourished with us ever since birth and it forces us to choose one identity over another. This outlook is what...

...DeadlyIdentities
The book called DeadlyIdentities was published by AminMaalouf. He was born in Beirut at 25 February 1949. He was originally from Lebanese. He was living in French since1976. Although he was native Arabic speakers, he wrote their novels in French. DeadlyIdentities mostly concerned with a issue which Maalouf has encountered in his life some many times. He criticized the notion of nation, the aspect of nation which people agree with it.
The notion of nation was perceived by people in order to determine belonging of certain country yet Maalouf vehemently stand against this notion. Since he had two nations on his soul, he could not choose one of them. Nowadays, because of the politic or social reasons, people cannot understand that they may belong to two or more country deep inside of them. But it became very controversial issues. Maybe countries cannot share their successful citizen, maybe other reason; these kind of people force to choose one side. This would be an easy choice for those who cannot feel belonging to one particular country. On the other hand there are ones who cannot choice even deep inside of them. How can societies expect from such people to turn their “other” nation’s back on. They manipulate us that as if the belonging is just come from the nation or the race. By contrast, that kind of people...

...Rhetorical Writing in “DeadlyIdentities”
In the article “DeadlyIdentities” by AminMaalouf, he uses many types of rhetorical styles which include logos, pathos, and egos. He clearly states that a person can be on the edge of two countries, speaking different languages, and practicing different cultures. He also tries to say that when you come from different countries, you don’t really know where your from. It can be confusing when you come from diverse countries, and being asked the question “where are you from?”
Maalouf includes a lot of ethos in his writing. Ethos simply means how credible is the author or how convincing is the author. Using ethos in an essay makes the essay more effective. In my opinion, he is very credible and trustworthy since he himself is from two diverse backgrounds. He says that he’s of Lebanese origin but lived in France. In his article he states:
“I have lived on the French soil for 22 years, I drink its water and wine, my hands caress Its old stones everyday, I write my books in French and France could never again be a foreign country even though I was born in Lebanon, lived there until the age of 27 and that Arabic was my first language.”
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